DeVante Parker started the season slow, but is picking it up down the stretch and should be rostered

Congratulations on making it to this point in the season. For most leagues, fantasy playoffs are here and it’s win or go home. Bye weeks are in the distant past, but injuries continue to plague teams (we’re looking at you Chargers receivers).

Even if injuries haven’t hit your team, perhaps there’s a quality streaming option out there. No matter the case, the waiver wire will provide someone with a player or two that can have an impact. Deciding who that impact player is may not be as simple as grabbing the top scoring free agent from this past weekend. To help with the waiver wire, we’ve asked our featured experts to rank the top readily available options as well as name their top streaming D/ST for this week.

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Featured Pros

David Gonos (FanDuel)
Phil Alexander (Footballguys)
Tony Mauriello (ProjectRoto)
R.C. Fischer (Fantasy Football Metrics)

Waiver Wire Rankings (Standard Scoring)

Week 14 Waiver Wire Advice

Each expert was asked to share the reasoning behind their waiver rankings as well as what D/ST they like as a rental for week 14. Here’s what the experts had to say.

Q1: Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.

Phil Alexander – Footballguys
“With Rishard Matthews out indefinitely (multiple fractured ribs), DeVante Parker is showing off the big-play chops that made him the 14th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft. The rookie out of Louisville has averaged at least 20 yards per reception and hauled in a 30+ yard touchdown in consecutive games since being inserted as a starter. He was in on 90% of the Dolphins’ offensive snaps last week after playing 82% in relief of Matthews the week prior, so we know the job is his for at least as long as Matthews remains on the shelf. Even if Matthews does come back healthy this year, it would be a curious decision for Miami not to use these last few games to get Parker meaningful reps ahead of next season. Miami faces the Giants, Chargers, and Colts the next three weeks, setting Parker up with winnable matchups for the duration of the fantasy playoffs.”

Tony Mauriello – ProjectRoto
“If he is still on your waiver wire going into week fourteen, then you must grab the wide receiver from the Miami Dolphins. You really should have grabbed him after his performance last week so now you will have to pay up for DeVante Parker. With the Dolphins playoff aspirations still an accessible dream, pick up Parker, who caught three of his five targets for 63 yards and a touchdown in Miami’s win over the Ravens. Injuries and Rishard Matthews strong play early in the season kept Parker off the fantasy radar, but with two strong games in a row, he now gets to face a Giants secondary that was torched this past week by another target monster in Brandon Marshall.”

David Gonos – FanDuel
“Dorial Green-Beckham — The rookie out of Missouri had been flirting with a breakout game in recent weeks, and it finally came against the Jaguars in Week 13. This was his second game against the Jaguars in three weeks, however, so it makes sense he had more confidence for this matchup. The 47-yard touchdown catch and run was really the biggest difference from their first matchup to this one. Going forward, the Titans need to evaluate what they have offensively, and DGB should be a big part of that. Over the final four weeks of the season, they face three weak defenses against fantasy wide receivers.”

R.C. Fischer – Fantasy Football Metrics
“You cannot be blamed for looking right past Cecil Shorts, seeing him as a different kind of Nate Washington-like opportunist… and one who always seems hurt. I dismissed that guy too. My interest is in this new Cecil Shorts of the past three weeks during the Houston uprising—the guy who took seven rushing attempts in two games (Weeks 11–12) as a wildcat QB and via wide receiver in motion hand-offs, and the former high school QB who threw a TD pass in week 11. In week 13, Shorts had one more target (10) than DeAndre Hopkins (9). I don’t know when it dawned on the Texans to get radical, but the Texans are purposefully and innovatively getting the ball to Shorts in a variety of ways the past three weeks. Of all the sketchy names on waivers this week—this is the one guy whose team appears fully committed to getting him more, and unique, touches.

We’ve all seen Tyler Lockett have his highlight moments, as a WR and kick/punt returner this season… and we all loved what we saw. All of us also noticed that Lockett is mostly a bit player in Seattle’s low-level passing game, and don’t see him as viable or consistent enough for most fantasy leagues. That may have changed in Week 13. Lockett had career highs in targets (7), catches (7), and receiving yards (90) and it might be a glimpse/sign that Lockett is about to (or has) become Russell Wilson’s preferred #2 favorite target behind Doug Baldwin. That’s exciting because Lockett is arguably the most talented WR from the 2015 NFL Draft aside from Amari Cooper. With Seattle’s passing game rising, Lockett might become a consistent force ahead.”

Q2: For owners renting a D/ST in Week 14, what readily available option should they target and why?

David Gonos – FanDuel
“The San Francisco 49ers D/ST might be one of the least popular fantasy defenses this season, but they do face the hapless Browns in Cleveland this week. The Browns offense ranks last in Fantasy PPG allowed to DSTs. This unit leads the NFL in giving up a league-high 3.42 sacks per game and 1.25 fumbles recovered by the defense, with just a couple offenses scoring fewer points per game. The 49ers D/ST is a gamble, but one with good potential, coming off a pretty good game against the Bears and a solid performance against the Cardinals.”

Phil Alexander – Footballguys
“Johnny Manziel is again the starter for Cleveland, which gives San Francisco (admittedly one of the worst defenses in the league) a high fantasy floor this week. In the three games Manziel has thrown more than 20 passes this season, opposing defenses have averaged 13.3 fantasy points per game against the Browns, with only the Bengals failing to reach double digits. Manziel has been sacked 14 times despite starting only three games, and he’s completing under 60% of his passes. At least one turnover to go along with two or three sacks is a given and there’s upside for more with the 49ers defense playing respectably in their last two games.”

R.C. Fischer – Fantasy Football Metrics
“How about those San Francisco 49ers? They’ve held three of their last four opponents to 20 or fewer points. They stymied the high-powered Arizona offense two weeks ago—the only time this season where Carson Palmer didn’t throw a TD pass. This week they face the Browns who have posted 3, 9 and 10 points total in the last three games where Josh McCown didn’t start. A rising, still-fighting 49ers defense facing a Browns team that has lost seven in a row will be a worthy streaming option.”

Tony Mauriello – ProjectRoto
“After you have spent your FAAB dollars on some of the high-profile waiver wire pickups for the start of your fantasy football playoffs, you either have no money left or just a few precious dollars to spend over the next few weeks. If you are looking to pick up a D/ST as a free agent or if you want to put down just a dollar, look to the Detroit Lions who may be on the road in week fourteen, but get to face a St. Louis Rams team in a game that has the lowest over/under (as of the publication of this article) at just 40.5 points. The Rams are -1 favorites, but have an implied total of just 20.75 and are coming off a 27-3 loss at home to the Cardinals. The Rams, as led by Nick Foles, managed just 146 yards through the air and 66 yards on the ground. Contrast that to the Lions who were in control of their game against the Packers this past week before collapsing. The defense still managed to pick off Aaron Rodgers once and sacked him three times. Now we know that Foles is no Rodgers (or even Austin Davis), so look for this swarming Lions defense to force plenty of turnovers from Foles and make for the perfect cheap streaming D/ST.”

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Thanks to the experts for ranking their top waiver pickups for Week 14. For more advice from them, please follow them on Twitter.